Molding apparatus



H. B. MORRIS ErAl. MOLDING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet \1 Filed May 19. 1938 ^TTORNEYS Filed May 19, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToRs Mame/s ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 7, 1941 Harold B.` Morris, 'Cuyahoga Falls, and John NQ Street, Akron, Ollio, assignors to The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company,

. poration f Ohio Akron, Ohio, .a co'r- V11i-milionaria May i9, 19a-s, semi No. essere.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to molding apparatus 'and'particularly 'to apparatus for continuously fc'oagulatin'g `latex `While it passes through a form- --ing mold. YOne @general lobj ect ofthe invention is to Vprovide apparatus for 'contini-iously producing Atub'ed latex which lis of desired 'cross-section and Iwhich retains its given shape.

@Another object of the invention is to `'tube latex rapidly and still produce 'a ilawless product.' These and other objects 'will appear' from the -following description.

vThe :instant rinvention mainly comprises the .provision yof -a forming' mold that includes a fixed housing having a core, or mandrel, therein that .is smaller than `and concentric with the bore of the housing. The housing has means associated with 'it Yfor vheating the terminal ,portion thereof to coagulate any latex therein. Since the inandrelkleaves a tubular opening extending through the housing, liquid latex rcan be forced into vsuch opening and be coagulated Aas it passes through the housing.` This Icoagulated and tubular latex rubber, is then "forced from 'the housing by a slight pressure exerted upon the latexat the en'- trance end thereof so that a continuous strip. of f .f Figure 2 is a central vertical section taken Aon fline 2-2 of Figure through the `forming mold .o f the apparatus;

Y, Figure is a section on line -3-f-3 of Figure 2. `vMore specifically, Figure 1 lof the drawings illustrates a storage container I0 in which the Llatex to betubed is placed and from which it ovvs bygravity through pipe I I, to the distributing tanl; I2A that is secured upon a frame I3. Flow of latex from the tank I2 is kcontrolled by a valveArI4 which connects to a iiexible conduit VI 5 that leads to a relatively long forming mold i6 that is adapted to coagulate latex continuously in tubularform. The mold will be specifically described hereinafter.

In order to mount the hold I6 so its angle with thel horizontal is variable, itis secured to a plate I1 that is pivotally carried by a pin I8 on the `frame I-3..A AA second pin I?! on the frame engages With Vanarcuateslot 2| in plate I'I to limit the plates movement. Thus -in starting the flow of latex, the p'siuonfof the mold can-be' varied 'for it usually is 'desirableto tilt the mold upwardly in initially filling Ait with latex. llecess'arily the latex initially i'n the m'oldis eoagulated prior to starting the continuousproduction `of tubing t'o set-up the required resistance to now through the mold. Ordinarily the pressure head provided by the latex in the container Il) is sunicient to force the latex through 'the lmold I'B but external pressure means'for V'forcing latex through the nozzle obviously may be used. Normally a pressure'oi one to ten pounds suflice's.

It will be appreciated that 1 as many forming 'molds as desired may be connected tothe distributing tank' I2; 'althoughvonly"onesu`ch mold isshown. g I" A Vat, or tank 2-2 is'v carried by the frame' I3 and -is positioned 'to receivethe'.tubedv lateXf'fro'rh mold I6.v YPP-ipesi and 24 connectto theltank 22 for circulating 'steain 'through Water normally :held in the tank to'c'ure the'latex tube therein. 'A conveyor 25 is associated with the frame -`I3 at fon'e end 'of the l'tank 2'2 tofpull the tubed strip from the tank. The 'conVe'yor-25includes an endless '-b'elt which is carried by pulleys 26 that are journalledonfrarne l3fpulley'26a being adjustably supported :byf-.screW 2l for take-up purposes. Steam pipes 28 are associated with the conveyor Y`25 to dry any material thereon andc'onnecttof'a source -of-steam (not shown). This heating action in some 'case's'acts to kcoinplete the cure of the tubed latex, which may be collectedV from the Conveyor infany suitable manner.

The conveyor'25i's driven by a belt 29"'Which connects to al pulley 39 on the shat of the pulley 2Gb. The belt 29 extends to a drum 3l which is journalled on thevframe I3 and which is 'driven by a belt 32 thatconnects to the slow speed side of -a speed reducer 33. A motor 34 drives the speed reducer by a belt 35. The conveyor 25 'is adapted to be driven at the speed at which the rubber is extruded. Necessarily the tank 22 and conveyor 25 are -rnade ofisuch lengthin relation to the movement ofthe strip vof rubber that 'it is processed in :the desired inanner. A cover 31 usually should be placed over the tank' 22 and conveyor 25 ,tol'exhaust gases rising therefrom through flue36.

Figure 2 shows the details ofthe forming mold I6 that includes two metallic blocks 4I and 42, each Aof Whichy has a central aperturel 43 and a chamber 44 formedtherein. Bolts 45 secure the blocks together in spaced relation with theape'r-v tures 43 aligned, A housing 46 having a threaded end 'extends through the apertures 43 andengages with threads cut in the block 42 to secure it in such position and place it in heat-transfer relation with the blocks 4| and 42. The end of the housing 46 adjacent the block 4| has an enlarged cylindrical head 41 Which is drawn against block 4| to x the housing against movement. The head 41 should be reamed out adjacent the bore 49 of the housing, as shown, to aid in forming a receiving chamber for latex prior to its passage through the mold.

A core, or mandrel which includes a short, relatively Wide cylindrical portion 52 that has tubular arms 53 and 54 extending from opposite sides thereof, is tightly secured to the head 41 by bolts 55. The mandrel 5|, having an axial bore 56 extending completely therethrough, is positioned with the tubular arm 53 in and extending the length of the bore of the housing 46, the arm being concentric with and spaced from the inner wall of the housing. Thus a tubular mold cavity 50 is formed between the arm 53 and the housing 46 and this cavity terminates and enlarges appreciably to form an annular latex-receiving, or storage chamber 51 adjacent the portion 52 of the mandrel. The arm 54 is offset from the axis of the arm 53 and projects outwardly from the mold I6. The tubular arm 54 is adapted to connect to and receive latex from the conduit 5| which is connected to the tank I2 as hereinbefore described. The inner end of the bore of the tubular arm 54 connects with the annular chamber 51 and thereby supplies it with liquid latex under pressure. The force exerted upon the latex causes it to now into and fill the chamber 51 completely and then be forced into and through the cavity 50.

A prime feature of the invention is the continuous coagulation of the latex as it passes through the mold; heat being applied to one portion of the housing 46 for this purpose. Pipes 59 and 60, connected to the chamber 44 of the block 42, extend to a suitable source of hot fluid (not shown) to circulate the uid through the block. Thus heat is conducted to latex in the portion of the housing adjacent the block 42 whereby that latex is coagulated in its molded tubular form and the pressure upon the latex forces thev tubular rubber coagulum produced from the forming mold. Other suitable means may be used to heat the housing, if desired. It has usually been found desirable to cool the entrance portion of the housing 46 to prevent premature coagulation of thelatex, so pipes 62 and 63 connect the bore 44 of block 4| to a source of cooling fluid, not shown, to circulate a cooling medium in block 4|. Howeven in some cases it may be desirable to preheat the latex so that the block 4| may have a yheating fluid supplied thereto. This block still would be at a lower temperature, usually, than the block 42.

The tubed rubber forced from the mold I6 should be prevented from collapsing and this is prevented by a. bore 56 which is formed in the mandrel 5| and which provides a conduit for air ow into the bore of the tubed article. Slight pressure may be applied to force air into the tubed latex rubber to retain it in such form. In all events, the bore extending completely through the mandrel 5| functions to prevent formation of a vacuum in the tubed product.

Another feature of the invention resides in the positive coagulation action provided thereby when the latex is molded in the desired crosssectional form.

It will be seen that the formation of weak spots in the finished tube is substantially eliminated by the invention, for air bubbles, which are the chief cause of such defects, can not get into the tubing chamber which constantly is completely filled with latex.

Any superfluous water not bodily carried in the coagulated latex will merely be forced from the housing 46 and drip therefrom.

Obviously, the mandrel may be supplied with latex from two or more arms similar to the arm 54, if desired. It also is apparent that the invention may be used to produce a solid thread, strip, or sheet of latex rubber, if desired.

In accordance with the patent statutes, we have illustrated vand described the principle and mode of operation of the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it will be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as described in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A forming mold comprising two metallic blocks having central apertures and chambers formed therein, means securing said blocks together in spaced relation with their central apertures in alignment and forming a unit therewith, means associated with one of said blocks for circulating a cooling uid through the chamber therein, means associated with the other of said blocks for circulating a heating fluid through the chamber therein, a housing extending through the central apertures of said blocks secured to at least one of said blocks, said housing being provided with an end head which is adjacent the block having cooling fluid circulating therethrough, said end head being recessed adjacent the bore ofV said housing to flare it outwardly, and a mandrel provided with tubular arms protruding from opposite sides thereof secured to the end head of said housing, one of said tubular arms extending into the bore of said housing and being concentric with and spaced from the inside wall of said housing to leave a tubular cavity in the bore of said housing, said mandrel and said end head forming an annular chamber in which one end of the tu- Vbular cavity through said housing terminates,

the remaining tubular arm of said mandrel connecting to said annular chamber and being adapted to connect, to a source of `latex whereby latex can be forced into said annular chamber and then through the tubular cavity between-said housing and said mandrel where it is formed into a tubular strip of rubber.

2. A forming mold comprising two metallic blocks having central apertures and chambers formed therein, means securing said blocks together, means associated with said blocks for circulating fluids of controlled temperatures therethrough, a housing extending through the central apertures of said blocks, and a mandrel provided with tubular arms protruding from 0pposite sides thereof secured in said housing, said mandrel having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, one of said tubular arms extending into the bore of said housing and being concentric with and spaced from the inside wall of said housing to provide a tubular cavity extending through said housing, the remaining tubular arm of said mandrel communicating with said tubular cavity and being adapted to connect to a source of latex whereby latex can be forced through the tubular cavity in said housing and be formed into a tubular rubber coagulum.

3. In latex molding apparatus, a housing havbetween which is connected to said tubular cavity, a. tubular arm being formed integral with said mandrel head and being offset relative to said mandrel, said tubular arm connecting to said annular cavity whereby latex can readily be forced into said tubular cavity.

HAROLD B. MORRIS.

JOHN N. STREET. 

